Le Roi (The King)

Clavé’s first prints appeared after his arrival in Paris, in 1939, and are distinguished by their formal experimentation. He combined collage techniques and abstract, gestural elements of informalism, juxtaposing textures sourced from random objects, textiles, and even his fingers. In 1950, he created a series of lithographs for a special edition of the sixteenth-century satirical novel, "Gargantua", by François Rabelais. Illustrated with royal and medieval figures whose design and decorative elements drew upon the iconography of classic card decks, this series inspired much of Clavé’s work from this decade. In the present serigraph, titled "The King", Cubist collage elements combine with chance in a playful portrait of the painter with brush and palette, fusing literary and artistic traditions and suggestively dating the work to the mid-1950s.

Text credit: Produced in collaboration with the University of Maryland Department of Art History & Archaeology and Patricia Ortega-Miranda.